Posted by Joe Lorenzino on Sunday, July 06, 2003 at 1:57AM :
In Reply to: Thanks Marty.. posted by Jonas on Saturday, July 05, 2003 at 11:18PM :
The air arc is a type of carbon arc torch that establishes an arc between the carbon rod, and the metal bieng removed, then blows it out of the way withan air jet. I usually swith the polarity on the cables to run "DC Straight" (electrode negative) as the carbons tend to last longer, and it gouges in deeper. If you have a good, DRY air presure supply,the air arc is a very good, fast way to remove old welds without cutting or blowing holes throught the base metal. They will also gouge out metals and welds that do not cut with a torch like stainles or brass. It is a wise idea to wear ear plugs and lots of burn-proof clothing as they are both loud, and throw A LOT ofhot metal into the air. Yours will probably take a 1/4" or larger carbon rod.
Since the machine is designed as a stick welder,it should be able to run a tig torch on DC for welding steel,stainless and copper. If the machine has AC welding output as well, then you could add a High Frequency Stabilizer Box to the output side for tig welding aluminum, bronze, zinc die-cast, and magnesium.If the machine is set up with a remote amperage control, then you really have a Cadillac for tig welding. Some of the "big 20,30,40" series machines up here DID have a 220 AC outlet, some even had three phase, so you should be able to run a plasma off of it. It may require some factory parts, but should be quite do-able. Good Luck. Joe L.